A Call for Student Accountability:

How Can We Foster Student Preparedness and Discussion in Class?

Dr. Ginni Fair, Eastern Kentucky UniversityFebruary 5, 2015

Take a Stand: Who is responsible for students’ preparation for class?

Take a Stand: Who is responsible for success with classroom discussion?

The Role of Text in Class Discussion Discussion about text begins with

transaction between reader and text. Negotiating uncertainty promotes internal conversation.

“The constructivist perspective is that learning is a process of interpreting and organizing information and experiences into meaningful units, transforming old conceptions and constructing new ones” (Golding, 2009, p. 468).

Benefits of discussion: Develops critical understanding Builds students’ self awareness Fosters appreciation of diverse perspectives Promotes social action Applies democratic principles (appreciates

everyone’s right to be heard) Assists students in negotiating

understanding Refines students’ “mental models”

Principles to remember: Clarify expectations for students’

preparation Establish clear roles and procedures Resist “taking over” the conversation Establish process for formative

assessment Plan for addressing misconceptions or

inaccuracies

“Save the Last Word For Me”

Divide into groups of 4-6 participants. Read through your assigned text and underline ONE quote/short excerpt that you find especially important.

One person in the group will share his quote. Group members will think about the passage and briefly respond to it (going in clockwise direction). The last person to share is the one who identified the quote in the first place.

Follow this process until every group member has a chance to share.

Other Discussion/Engagement Techniques Chalk Talk Meaning Making Protocol Save The Last Word For Me Shared Reading/Guided Critical Thinking Inside/Outside Circles Socratic Seminar Standing Meetings Jigsaw

http://www.nsrfharmony.org/free-resources/protocols/a-z

ReferencesAllen, I.J. (2011). Reprivileging reading: The negotiation of uncertainty. Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture, 12(1), p. 97-120. DOI 10.1215/15314200-1416540 Brooks, D. (2011). Getting students to talk. Chronicle of Higher Education, 57(29), p.A31-A32.Culver, S.J. (2012). ...And let's help them speak up across the cultural divide. Chronicle of Higher Education, 59(12), pA37-A38. Dallimore, E.J., Hertenstein, J.H., & Platt, M.B. (2004). Classroom participation and discussion effectiveness: Student-generated strategies. Communication Education, 53(1), 103-115.East, K. (2009). Content: Making it a boundary object in the college classroom. College Teaching, 57(2), 119-124.Golding, C. (2009). The many faces of constructivist discussion. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 43(5), p. 467-483. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-5812.2008.00481.xLi, S, & Demaree, D. (2010). Promoting and studying deep-level discourse during large-lecture introductory physics. Physics Education Research Conference, edited by C. Singh, M. Sabella, & S. Rebello, American Institute of Physics 978-0-7354-0844-9/10Michalec, P., & Burg, H. (2007). Transforming discussions from collegiate to collegial. Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue, 9 (1 & 2), p. 311-326.Nash, R.J. (2009). Crossover pedagogy: The collaborative search for meaning. “About Campus.” Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com), p. 2-9. DOI: 10.1002/abc.277National School Reform Faculty (NSRF). (2014). NSRF protocols and activities…from A to Z. Retrieved from http://www.nsrfharmony.org/free-resources/protocols/a-zQuinn, R.J., & You, Z. (2010). Improving classroom discussion using an innovative structure. “Quick Fix.” College Teaching, 58, p. 116. DOI: 10.1080/8767550903252744.Zhang, J. & Stahl, K.A.D. (2011). Collaborative reasoning: Language-rich discussions for English learners. The Reading Teacher, 65(4), p. 257-260. DOI:10.1002/TRTR.01040